Tuesday, 10 September 2013

Review | Fallout

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins is the third and
final instalment of the Crank
trilogy. I started the series about 5 years ago, and decided it was about time
I read the last book. I was a huge fan of the first ones (Crank and Glass) and I
really wasn't disappointed with Fallout.

In this last book, the story isn't focused on Kristina, but on her 3 oldest
children and how their lives have been affected by their mother's relationship
with the monster.

We first
get to know Hunter, the eldest of her children. When he was a baby, Kristina's
parents decided to adopt him because she clearly wasn't able to take care of
him. Hunter is now 18, is in a serious relationship, works part-time at a radio
station and goes to college.

We then
meet Autumn, Kristina's eldest daughter. She's 17, and has OCD. When her dad went
to jail, her aunt and grandpa took her in and they were very careful and made
sure her parents (or other family) would never find her.

And then we
get introduced to Summer, 15. She suffers from severe asthmas due to her mother
using while she was pregnant. She's been from one foster family to another for
most of her life, taken away from her grandparents when they got "too
old".

These kids
have nothing in common except for an irresponsible mother and a predisposition
to substance abuse. Wherever Kristina goes, she brings drama, and this year at
Christmas is no different. In this last novel, unrelated events bring everyone
together in what seems to be like a path towards change and recovery.

Once again,
the author totally blew my mind away. Ellen Hopkins has a gift when it comes to
writing contemporary young adult fiction that’s for sure.

It was
really nice to take the focus off Kristina and have her children on the
spotlight. To see drug addiction from a child’s point of you and how it doesn't
only affect the user’s life.

All the
characters felt real, and it’s very easy to relate to them. That’s one thing
I've always liked about her books.

“It's just
so hard to feel good, you know?" I do know. And more than that, it's just
so incredibly hard to feel.”

I really
can’t say anything bad about this book, but I wish I could have more. I want to
know what happened to each one of the children. I really want them to be okay,
to have a great future.

Hopkins has
a very unique way of writing her books, and I really like it. You can easily
get sucked in and read it all in one sitting. Fallout is really not a hard
read, but it’s very emotional. It’s difficult to be indifferent to the
characters.

I really
recommend this book (the series) if you like YA novels. Or even if you don’t!
It’s just one of these books!